


Stellar

by Rose_of_Pollux



Series: Inktober for Writers, 2019 [7]
Category: Perfect Strangers
Genre: Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-27 04:49:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20942543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: In which Balki convinces everyone to watch a meteor shower.





	Stellar

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by Day 7 of Inktober’s prompts: Enchanted. This one takes place around season 4ish.

Balki was a man of simple pleasures—it was something that Larry never really understood, and sometimes something he marveled at. It was also difficult to deny his requests when he so rarely asked for anything.

And that was how Larry had ended up driving an hour out of Chicago with Balki, Jennifer, and Mary Anne after Balki had heard about there being perfect weather conditions to view a meteor shower that night—only to be devastated upon learning that, within the city, it would be impossible to get a good view of them.

Balki had begged for a chance to see them, reminiscing about the times he had been able to see meteor showers on Mypos while tending the sheep at nights, and Larry finally agreed. They also invited Jennifer and Mary Anne to come along, who took them up on the offer, never having taken the opportunity to see a meteor shower, either.

Once out of the city, they set up a picnic blanket on a grassy hillside and had a late dinner, and then reclined on the blanket and chatted idly as they waited. Stars and planets soon sparkled into view, and the four of them started trying to identify constellations; Larry, having taken an elective astronomy course in college, seemed to be the best at it, but with so many constellations being inspired by ancient Greek myths, Balki was able to provide the lore behind the constellations that Larry identified—Orion, son of Poseidon; Gemini, the twins Castor and Pollux; Cassiopeia, the vain queen; and many other stories, ending with the tale of Perseus, who had slain Medusa at Athena Parthenos’s behest…

“And some say that Athena Parthenos and the other Olympians still observe all of our goings-on here on Earth,” Balki added. “Sometimes, they walk among us, just as they supposedly did in ancient times—under different names, of course. They probably wouldn’t want to be recognized.”

“Those are some amazing stories, Balki!” Mary Anne exclaimed. “Just like all your old Mypoisian legends!”

“She’s right—I always knew the names of the constellations and had a vague idea of some of the stories, but I never knew the full tales,” Larry said, amazed.

“Me neither,” Jennifer agreed. “Were those the stories you heard growing up?”

“They sure were,” Balki grinned. “We were close enough to Greece to get all the good stories from them, in addition to our own…” He trailed off as he noticed something. “Oh, look! _Look_!”

They all looked up and saw the first shooting star of the meteor shower soaring over their heads. A hush fell over the four as they waited and watched, and soon, more shooting stars followed.

“Balki, this is incredible…” Larry said, unable to take his eyes off of the enchanting sight. “I don’t know what to say—thank you for convincing me to drive all the way out here for this!”

“And thank you for inviting us, too,” Jennifer agreed.

“We should make some wishes on those!” Mary Anne added. “Do you wish on falling stars on Mypos?”

“Oh, we sure do,” Balki said, wistfully.

Jennifer gave Larry a gentle nudge with her elbow as Balki and Mary Anne continued to talk more about wishes.

“I know,” Larry said, with a quiet chuckle. “But let ‘em dream. Wishes can’t hurt.”

“But I don’ know what else to wish for,” Balki continued. “My wish already came true for the thing I wanted most of all.”

“It did?” Mary Anne asked.

“I am here in America—where I wanted to be, more than anything,” Balki sighed. “And then I got even _more_ than what I wished for. I found Cousin Larry, and then I found you and Jennifer… What more could I possibly need?”

“Money,” Larry and Jennifer chorused.

“Oh, you two…” Mary Anne chided, shaking her head.

“Really?” Balki asked, looking over at them. “Both of you, look each other in the eyes right now. I mean it—you can look at more shooting stars in just a minute. But look at each other right now.”

Larry and Jennifer both shrugged, but turned to look at each other. Larry’s heart felt like it was doing flips as he saw the starlight shining in Jennifer’s eyes.

“Good,” Balki said. “Now continue to look into each other’s eyes and tell if you would _really_ rather be looking at a big pile of money right now instead of each other.”

Larry could feel his throat tightening as he continued to look into Jennifer’s eyes. He shook his head.

“I couldn’t say that,” he admitted.

Jennifer took his hand in hers and gave it a firm squeeze.

“Neither could I,” she agreed.

“There, see? You don’ need money,” Balki said. “You want it, but you really don’ _need_ it. You have something very precious right there, and thankfully, you both know it.”

“Of course, you’re right,” Larry sighed. “And not just Jen, either—I wouldn’t trade you or Mary Anne for a pile of money, either.”

“That goes for me, too,” Jennifer added.

“Then let’s just enjoy the rest of this show and not worry about wishes or money, huh?” Balki asked, with a smile.

He and Mary Anne went back to admiring the meteors; Larry and Jennifer held their gaze for a moment longer before turning their attention back to the sky—still holding hands.

It was a beautiful sight—but nowhere near as beautiful as the sight of four true-blue companions enjoying it together.


End file.
